ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — With Jim Harbaugh nowhere in sight, J.J. McCarthy and No. 3 Michigan stared down No. 2 Ohio State and ran the school’s win streak against the Buckeyes to three games with a 30-24 victory on Saturday in maybe the most consequential game in the history of the storied rivalry.
Michigan’s Rod Moore intercepted Kyle McCord’s wobbly pass intended for All-American Marvin Harrison Jr. at the Wolverines 21-yard line with 25 seconds left, setting off a wild celebration.
McCarthy took a knee, Michigan fans poured over the brick walls of The Big House and onto the field, and the Wolverines (12-0, 9-0) were off to their third straight Big Ten title game. Michigan is a victory away from a third consecutive College Football Playoff appearance.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day fell to 1-3 against the Wolverines as the Buckeyes (11-1, 8-1) once again lost the most important game on their schedule.
McCarthy went 16 for 20 for 148 yards and a touchdown. If this was the third-year player’s final appearance in The Game, he’ll finish 3-0.
Harbaugh served the final game of a three-game suspension over allegations of in-person scouting and sign stealing. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was again filling for his boss and seemed to make all the right moves.
After Ohio State cut the lead to 27-24 with 8:05 left on a 14-yard touchdown pass from McCord to Harrison, Michigan proceeded to drain seven minutes off the clock. James Turner's 37-yard field goal made it 30-24 with 1:05 remaining.
NO. 8 ALABAMA 27, AUBURN 24
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Jalen Milroe and Isaiah Bond rescued Alabama’s playoff hopes, connecting for a last-minute touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 31 to beat Auburn.
Bond caught Milroe’s pass in the left corner of the end zone with 32 seconds left to give the Crimson Tide (11-1, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) a 10th straight win in the latest dramatic Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Trailing by four with 1:43 left, Alabama had first-and-goal at the Auburn 7 before moving backward. The Crimson Tide lost 18 yards on a bad snap and were pushed back 5 more yards with an illegal downfield pass on third down after Milroe crossed the line of scrimmage.
Alabama nearly returned an interception for another touchdown on the final play. But this game will be remembered around the state for fourth-and-31, a play where Auburn didn’t try to put any pressure on Milroe before he spotted Bond.
Ja’Varrius Johnson scored on a 27-yard touchdown catch and a 12-yard run to put the Tigers (6-6, 3-5) in position to win.
Milroe passed for 259 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 107 more yards. Jermaine Burton had 107 yards receiving, including a 68-yard touchdown. Bond had five catches for 75 yards.
Payton Thorne passed for 91 yards and a touchdown and ran for 58 yards for Auburn.
NO. 4 WASHINGTON 24, WASHINGTON STATE 21
SEATTLE (AP) — Grady Gross made a 42-yard field goal on the final play, Rome Odunze caught two touchdown passes from Michael Penix Jr. and Washington beat Washington State in the Apple Cup for an undefeated regular season.
Playing likely his final game at Husky Stadium, Odunze caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and hauled in a 21-yarder on the final play of the third quarter to give the Huskies a 21-14 lead.
Odunze then added his biggest running play of the year. Facing fouth-and-1 at the Washington 29 with 1:11 left, he took a reverse 23 yards. Odunze later played defender, breaking up a potential interception at the goal line, and Gross nailed the winner.
In the final year of the Pac-12 before most of its members scatter to other conferences, Washington (12-0, 9-0) became the first school in the 12-team era to go unbeaten in the regular season.
The Huskies still have one more challenge ahead, facing No. 6 Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game Friday in Las Vegas with a victory likely putting Washington into the College Football Playoff.
Washington State's Cam Ward threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns, but also had three interceptions. The Cougars (5-7, 2-7) needed a win to reach bowl eligibility.
KENTUCKY 38, NO. 9 LOUISVILLE 31
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ray Davis broke free for a go-ahead, 37-yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining and caught two second-half touchdowns, helping Kentucky rally past Louisville in the Governor's Cup.
Davis’ third score capped a wild second half in which the Bluegrass State rivals combined for 42 points and closed by alternating touchdowns.
Louisville (10-2, No. 10 CFP) tied the game at 31-all on Jack Plummer’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Ahmari Huggins-Bruce with 2:33 remaining. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. set up that score by intercepting Devin Leary’s floating pass as he was hit by Ashton Gillotte.
Kentucky (7-5) quickly drove into Louisville territory, and Davis found room on the left side and was gone for his 20th score that broke Benny Snell’s season record set in 2017.
Davis carried 14 times for 76 yards and caught four passes for 51 yards, including two 20-yard TDs from Leary.
The Wildcats won their fifth consecutive Governor’s Cup. Kentucky is bowl-bound but limped in with five losses in six games; Louisville is about to play for the Atlantic Coast Conference title and a possible New Year’s Six bowl game.
Plummer completed 24 of 33 passes for 242 yards and two scores for Louisville.
NO. 14 LSU 42, TEXAS A&M 30
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Jayden Daniels passed for four touchdowns and accounted for 355 yards of total offense against one of the nation’s top defenses as LSU beat Texas A&M.
Daniels completed 16 of 24 passes for 235 yards and ran 11 times for 120 yards — a fine day by most quarterbacks’ standards but somewhat short of the Heisman Trophy candidate’s usual production this season.
Malik Nabers caught six passes for 122 yards and two TDs for LSU (9-3, 6-2 Southeastern Conference). He became LSU’s career record holder in receptions with 186, eclipsing Wendell Davis’ mark of 183.
The Aggies (7-5, 4-4) were within one score after Jaylen Henderson found tight end Max Wright for a 51-yard touchdown that trimmed LSU’s lead to 35-30 with 7:20 left.
But Daniels quickly directed LSU back downfield with a 45-yard completion to Nabers that might have been a 75-yard TD if not for a holding call on Kyren Lacy at the A&M 30. Still, Daniels got the Tigers in the end zone with his 15-yard strike to Lacy.
Daniels’ biggest play with his feet was a 49-yard scramble on fourth-and-4 to set up Josh Williams’ short TD run, cutting A&M’s lead to 24-21 in the third quarter. The Aggies' next two possessions ended on a missed field goal and an interception. Daniels put LSU on top 28-24 with a 23-yard fade to Brian Thomas in the back right corner of the end zone.
NO. 16 ARIZONA 59, ARIZONA STATE 23
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Noah Fifita threw for a school-record 527 yards and five touchdowns, Michael Wiley scored three times and Arizona put an emphatic end to the Pac-12 era of the Territorial Cup rivalry by routing Arizona State.
The Wildcats (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12, No. 15 CFP) were humiliated 70-7 by Arizona State two years ago, the wound salted by a mocking billboard erected by Sun Devils fans along Interstate 10 between Tempe and Tucson.
The embarrassment shifted north in the final game before the rivals head to the Big 12 next year.
The Wildcats took no pity on the injury-riddled Sun Devils (3-9, 2-7), racking up 619 yards of offense. Tetairoa McMillan had a Territorial Cup-record 266 yards and a touchdown on 11 catches. Jacob Cowing had nine catches for 157 yards.
Fifita finished 30 of 41 to break Anu Solomon’s school record of 520 yards passing against California in 2014.
Arizona intercepted Jaden Rashada twice — both set up touchdowns — to complete its first six-game winning streak since 1998. Rashada threw for 82 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-22 passing in his first game since Sept. 9.
NO. 21 OKLAHOMA STATE 40, BYU 34
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Ollie Gordon II ran for his fifth touchdown of the game in the second overtime, and Oklahoma State rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat BYU, securing a spot in the Big 12 Championship game.
BYU had a chance to win after Gordon’s final score, but Oklahoma State’s Trey Rucker ripped the ball from Isaac Rex after a catch and recovered the fumble to end it.
Oklahoma State (9-3, 7-2 Big 12, No. 20 CFP) eliminated rival Oklahoma from the title game. The Cowboys will play No. 7 Texas next Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Gordon, who entered the week as the nation’s leading rusher, finished with 166 yards rushing on a cold, rainy day and has 1,580 this season. Alan Bowman passed for 321 yards and Leon Johnson III had nine catches for 132 yards for Oklahoma State, which matched the third-largest comeback in school history.
Jake Retzlaff passed for 166 yards and ran for two touchdowns for BYU (5-7, 2-7), which needed a win to become bowl eligible.
The teams traded scores in the final minute to force overtime. Gordon’s 15-yard touchdown with 53 seconds remaining put Oklahoma State ahead 27-24, but BYU’s Simi Moala blocked the extra point. BYU finally put some offense together, and Will Ferrin made a 48-yard field goal as time expired.
Gordon and Retlzaff each had a rushing TD in the first overtime.
NO. 22 LIBERTY 42, UTEP 28
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Liberty completed the first undefeated regular season in the program’s 50-year history, with Quinton Cooley rushing for three touchdowns in a win over UTEP.
Quarterback Kaidon Salter ran for a team-leading 94 yards and threw for a score as the Flames made their Conference USA debut by becoming the league’s third team to go 12-0, joining Tulane (1998) and Houston (2011). They are the first team Division I team from the state of Virginia to win 12 games.
Liberty (8-0 C-USA), which rushed for a season-high 441 yards, will host New Mexico State in the conference championship game Friday, but likely will need a Tulane loss to have a shot at the Group of Five bid to the New Year’s Six bowls.
Liberty is one of five undefeated FBS teams. It just entered the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time at No. 25.
The Flames left little doubt against the Miners (3-9, 2-6). They found the end zone on four of their first five possessions for a 28-7 lead early in the second quarter. Liberty had 287 yards rushing at halftime.
NO. 24 JAMES MADISON 56, COASTAL CAROLINA 14
CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — Jordan McCloud threw a career-high five touchdown passes, three to Elijah Sarratt, and James Madison rebounded from its only loss to rout Coastal Carolina.
Transitioning from FCS to the bowl subdivision, the Dukes (11-1, 7-1 Sun Belt) were turned down twice by the NCAA in a bid for a waiver that would make them eligible for the league title game next week as East Division champions — and potentially a New Year’s Six bowl invite as the top Group of Five team.
But James Madison lost in overtime, 26-23, at home to Appalachian State a week ago.
McCloud’s final three TD passes came in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. The sixth-year player was 26 of 35 for 324 yards and also ran for a score. Sarratt had six catches for 107 yards.
Coastal Carolina (7-5, 5-3) would have advanced to the league championship game with a win. Instead, the Chanticleers stumbled badly in the regular-season finale and managed just 74 yards rushing.
NO. 25 TENNESSEE 48, VANDERBILT 24
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Joe Milton III threw a career-high four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores to lead Tennessee past Vanderbilt.
The game had several incidents late in the second quarter that led to skirmishes and six unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Milton passed for 383 yards, his top production in six seasons — three for the Volunteers and three for Michigan. Ramel Keyton caught four passes for 122 yards and two TDs to help Tennessee (8-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) end a two-game losing streak.
The Commodores (2-10, 0-8) lost their final 10 games of the season. They came into the game averaging 237 yards of total offense in their last four games, but showed improvement (223 yards through three quarters) with AJ Swann at quarterback for the first time since late September.
Swann left with an injury late in the third quarter. Vandy finished with 306 yards.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
